odpscmd-inst

[Interactive] Show instances created by current user

$ show instances;

$ desc instance [instance_id];

$ status [instance_id];

$ wait [instance_id];

$ kill [instance_id];

odpscmd -e "<action> <instance_id>"

status
    Queries and displays the current execution state (e.g., Running, Success, Failed, or Suspended) of a specific instance.

kill
    Manually terminates a running instance. This is used to stop runaway queries or free up project resources.

desc
    Provides a detailed description of the instance, including start/end times, owner information, and execution plan details.

wait
    Blocks the terminal and waits for the specified instance to complete execution before returning the final status.

top
    Lists the currently active instances within the specified project to provide an overview of cluster load.

odpscmd-inst (often invoked via the broader odpscmd utility) is a specialized command-line interface designed for managing execution instances within Alibaba Cloud MaxCompute, formerly known as ODPS. Every job submitted to the MaxCompute cluster—such as SQL queries, MapReduce tasks, or Graph operations—is assigned a unique Instance ID. This command provides the necessary tools to track these IDs through their entire lifecycle.

Users rely on this utility to perform critical operational tasks, including checking the real-time status of data processing jobs, stopping instances that are consuming excessive resources, and retrieving detailed diagnostic logs for debugging failed tasks. By providing a programmatic way to interact with the MaxCompute execution engine, it allows developers to integrate data job monitoring directly into Linux shell scripts and automated data pipelines. It acts as a bridge between the local environment and the distributed cloud infrastructure, ensuring that high-concurrency data tasks remain observable and manageable.

Users must have the appropriate RAM (Resource Access Management) permissions to view or terminate instances within a project. Terminating an instance via kill is immediate and cannot be undone; any partial data written to non-transactional tables may remain.

To view detailed execution logs, the desc command often provides a LogView URL. This URL can be opened in a browser to see a visual representation of the task's execution stages and individual worker logs.

Developed by Alibaba Group, MaxCompute was originally named ODPS (Open Data Processing Service). The command-line tools were created to allow developers to manage massive data workloads (at the exabyte scale) without relying solely on the web-based console, facilitating better integration with DevOps workflows.

odpscmd(1), mysql(1), hive(1)